Busan Port Authority takes first place in the International Association of Ports and Harbors Sustainability Awards’ Safety and Health category

[Financial News] The safety management system for mooring operations at the Port of Busan, established by Busan Port Authority (BPA), took first place in the Safety and Health category of the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) Sustainability Awards.
Busan Port Authority said on the 6th that the safety management system for mooring operations at the Port of Busan won the top prize in the Safety and Health category of the Sustainability Awards at the International Association of Ports and Harbors’ World Congress, held in London, UK, from the 3rd to the 6th.
The International Association of Ports and Harbors holds the Sustainability Awards annually to advance the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in the port sector. It selects outstanding initiatives in six categories: climate and energy, digitalization, environmental protection, infrastructure, community contribution, and safety and health.
Mooring operations are essential for safely berthing or departing a vessel, and involve connecting mooring lines to or disconnecting them from dock facilities. However, the need to improve safety management has been continually raised due to the aging workforce, the small scale of businesses in the sector, and a lack of standardized work procedures and training systems.
In response, the authority became the first in Korea to establish an integrated safety management system. Based on on-site inspections conducted with all mooring companies at the Port of Busan, it developed standardized work procedures and safety guidelines, as well as minimum staffing requirements. It also pursued institutional improvements, including tighter registration requirements for mooring businesses and the incorporation of safety standards into relevant regulations.
The authority also introduced a dedicated practical training facility for mooring workers and hands-on safety training programs, and strengthened the foundation for field-oriented safety management by establishing a port safety council involving the government, terminal operators, industry, and labor.
This safety management system at the Port of Busan was selected by the government as an outstanding port safety initiative and is being expanded to ports across the country. The authority said the award was significant because it recognized the Port of Busan’s on-site safety management model as an outstanding initiative that could be shared with ports around the world, not just in Korea. 
President Song Sang-geun said, "This award is the result of joint efforts by labor, management, and the government to raise safety standards in mooring operations. We hope the field-oriented safety management system established at the Port of Busan will help improve safety standards at ports around the world, beyond Korea."



[email protected] Kwon Byeong-seok Reporter